How to produce an environmental report

There are plenty of good reasons for creating and publishing an environmental report. It can give you a marketing edge, and improve your reputation and performance with everyone you depend on for success. This could include your customers, the local community, your employees, your investors and your suppliers.

Environmental reports should include information on the impact of your business' activities on the environment - both positive and negative. You should look at areas where your business makes a significant environmental impact, for example:

• carbon emissions
• waste generation and recycling
• energy use
• water use
• use of transport

If your business is listed on the London Stock Exchange and of a certain size, you have to include information about your environmental impact in your annual report and accounts.

This guide explains how to produce environmental reports for your business and your supply chain - what they should contain, what format to deliver them in and who to provide them to. It also explains why you might consider putting environmental declarations on the labels of the products you sell.

Get a free sustainability report

All Northern Ireland businesses with an annual energy and resource spend of more than £30k can get a free assessment of their environmental performance across areas such as raw materials, energy, carbon, packaging, biodiversity and waste - find out more about Invest NI Sustainability Reports.